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Patriots head coach Bill Belichick confirmed he will return for another season.

"Until I'm told otherwise, I plan on being here," said Belichick. Turning 61 in April, Belichick will return for his fourteenth season on the sidelines with the Patriots, and with Andy Reid now gone from Philadelphia, that makes him the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL. Mon, Jan 21, 2013 10:39:00 AM

Former LBs coach Matt Patricia has been elevated to Patriots defensive coordinator.

It's the Patriots, so nothing really changes. The defensive game plan will still have Bill Belichick's fingerprints all over it. Patricia had spent five years as LBs coach before the promotion. Pepper Johnson is moving from DL coach to LBs coach in his place. The Patriots also hired Belichick's son, Steve, as a first-year coaching assistant after four years of lacrosse and one season of longsnapping at Rutgers. Thu, May 10, 2012 05:49:00 PM

Head coach Bill Belichick will most likely remain the Patriots' defensive coordinator in 2011.

One of the league's foremost defensive minds, Belichick did an excellent job of bringing along New England's young defense in 2010. After the offense showed no ill-effects from his increased focus on defense, there's no reason for the Patriots to change things up this winter. Sat, Feb 12, 2011 06:43:00 PM

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer presented a video on Fox NFL Sunday that showed the Patriots appearing to setup a Sal Alosi type wall in their first meeting with the Jets this season.

The Jets claimed at the time of Alosi fiasco that the Patriots were guilty of the same crime, but did not have the video evidence to prove it. Glazer has now done that for them, but it's obviously too late for the NFL to reduce the $100,000 fine it imposed on New York last month. It's unclear what action, if any, the league will take on the Patriots. It will surely be a hot topic going forward, and more fuel for the bitterness between the two teams heading into this afternoon's Divisional Round showdown. Sun, Jan 16, 2011 12:45:00 PM

Depth Charts

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman ordered Tom Brady and Roger Goodell to appear in court for two conferences on Aug. 12 and 19.

Berman requested the two sides "engage in comprehensive, good-faith settlement discussions prior to the conference on August 12." Though the judge did not mention the NFL's and NFLPA's joint request to have the case resolved by Sept. 4, the immediacy of the conferences suggests a resolution could be handed down quickly. Hopefully this ridiculous episode will come to an end before the season begins.

Blount was placed on the active/NFI list to start training camp after failing his conditioning test. His appearance in practice on Saturday suggests he passed the second time around. Blount should dominate the Patriots' early-down work once he returns from suspension in Week 2.

It's possible this is only a day-to-day injury after LaFell donned a protective boot on his foot during OTA season. He shed the boot in July, so it's quite conceivable the Patriots are just easing LaFell in. The fact that LaFell is a prominent fantasy player makes his situation worth monitoring.